One of the most critical and challenging decisions an agricultural business can make is determining how it will reach its target customers. Many elements come into play when selecting the right path to market, including financial viability, opportunity to scale, product fit, agronomic practices, and more.
Out of all the factors that impact go-to-market strategy, one aspect stands out the most. It weighs directly on a farmer’s purchase decision: their relationship with a dealer or retailer. And yet, I’ve witnessed so many businesses that don’t account for this relationship.
I’ve spent more than 15 years at all levels of agribusiness, and I’ve found three key relationship elements to consider when developing your go-to-market strategy.
1. Loyalty
The Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business attempted to quantify the impact of relationships on brand loyalty in their 2021 Large Commercial producer survey. Their data shows that loyalty changes according to the product category. When the farmer is more loyal to a dealer/retailer, alternate agribusinesses may find it more challenging to drive consideration of a different brand directly among farmers. This is why a more efficient and effective path forward is to work within the existing dealer/retailer relationship.
2. Product Complexity
Protecting farmers’ investment in agricultural innovations can be a complex venture; the list of needs to consider includes shelf life, appropriate on-farm management, compatibility with existing tools and seed/seed treatment, and so much more.
Thus, to deliver a good farmer experience and ensure product success with these more complex products and services, it’s critical for an agribusiness – particularly one new to the farmer – and their service/rep team to be highly engaged in their customers’ experience.
During the first few years in the market, it’s crucial to deliver a high-touch experience to help foster changes in farmer behaviors and practices. Farmers themselves will seek a higher level of interaction as they try something new. They’ll want to know that their rep will be available and have the answers should any issues or questions arise. This is particularly important for more complex products or offerings.
An up-and-coming agribusiness would do well to consider reps who are well-suited and best positioned to deliver the desired experience to farmers. Doing so is an up-front investment, but it’s worth it: farmers have a long memory, and often, a new product or service only gets one season to show value. It’s your job to ensure your one season of trialing is as seamless as possible. It’ll drive retention and positive word of mouth.
3. Seller Excitement
Not everyone is motivated or excited about learning new products and services, and money (specifically, commission payments) isn’t always the motivating factor.
You want to find sellers seeking to bring innovations to their customers, sellers willing to take calculated risks, and believe in the future of agriculture. These passionate sellers are essential – if they believe in your product and see the value it can offer their customers, they’ll embrace your offerings with contagious excitement. Soon, their farmer customers will follow.
In the ag industry, products typically have three paths to market: direct sales, independent sales representatives, and retailers, and each path presents unique opportunities and challenges. But by keeping the farmer relationships top of mind during your GTM evaluation, your agribusiness may be better positioned to enter the market aligned with your target customers – and thus, you’ll be better positioned for early success.